


Bitter Truth and its Consequences

by Elydy138



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Conflict, Dealing With Loss, Multi, psycholocal breakdown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 20:29:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16899372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elydy138/pseuds/Elydy138
Summary: Keith and Lance don't get along well. Everyone knows it somehow. But as a fight gets really bad, Lance decides to do the unthinkable





	Bitter Truth and its Consequences

**Author's Note:**

> Well, the summary is a bit dramatic, isn't it? 
> 
> Big thanks to my friend @frostynarrator who gave me no less than FOUR inspiring prompts !  
> And beta read the work too 
> 
> As always, feedback and comments are welcome ! 
> 
> Enjoy !

It was a common thing, to hear Lance and Keith yell from somewhere in the Castle. And the other were used to it by now and they knew better than to meddle when they were fighting.

But now, they were just shouting in the launching bay, tension and anger surrounding them.

“I told you not to attack them up front!”

“As if _you_ could talk! You’re no better than me!”

“So that’s what this is about? You and your stupid inferiority complex almost got us all killed!”

They were face to face, an inch from each other, and everyone could feel the rope of patience getting thinner by the second. That’s when Allura stepped in.

“Both of you need to stop. Right _now_ ,” she said, her voice cold and sharp.

The boys actually reacted to that, slowly backing off.

“Allura, stay out of this,” Keith hissed.

“Hey, don’t talk to her like this!” Lance retorted, and he pushed him a bit roughly.

Keith huffed. The shove was supposed to be hard, but he barely felt it.

“That’s all you’ve got?” he grinned.

That was the moment Lance snapped. But he wouldn’t jump on Keith and start beating him. No, Lance wasn’t that hot-headed. Instead, his eyes turned cold, and his voice was blank. Emotionless.

“Not everyone has the chance to be half-Galra. You’re a monster and I’m just human.”

“Lance!”

Everyone stared at them, at Lance, with shared shock. No one ever brought Keith’s Galra lineage unless there was a good reason. And _that_ was not a good reason. Hunk grabbed Lance’s arm and made him turn.

“Seriously, Lance?! What was that for?!”

He didn’t answer. He stared at Keith with a deadly glare, not even registering his own words. He wanted to hurt Keith as much as Keith had hurt him. He couldn’t take his all-mighty attitude when Keith’ record was no better than his own. It was _one_ time, and Lance had just been careless. He didn’t deserve the lashing out Keith was giving him. He couldn’t take it any more, he was tired of saying nothing “for the sake of the team”. He had had enough.

Keith clenched his fists, visibly trying to keep his anger in check. He inhaled softly, and when he talked, his voice was as sharp as his blade.

“You need to leave. Leave the room before I do anything stupid.”

Lance wasn’t even surprised, to see that Keith would immediately cut off any kind of deep conflict.

“Yeah, maybe I’ll do that. After all, it’s not like I’m irreplaceable, right?”

The sting washed over the people in the room. Suddenly, the glass broke, and everyone was voiceless.

“Lance...”

But it was too late. The words were out there. Biting. Bitter.

Lance took a few steps back, turned around and left the bay, or more like _ran_ away.

The others were still shook, and no one properly processed his words. No one but Keith.

“ _Fuck_.”

He swore under his breath, and then ran after Lance.

 

He caught him just before he close the door to his room.

“Lance! Wait!”

Keith saw him flinch, hesitating between staying or hiding away. But Lance wasn’t quick enough to decide, and Keith reached his doorstep, blocking the path.

Lance gasped, jerked away from Keith without thinking.

“Lance, listen...”

“Why do you hate me?”

Keith staggered a bit, as if he had been punched in the chest.

“Lance, I don’t… hate you...”

“So why are you always on my throat? You’re always trying to make me look stupid. I’m doing my best here. I miscalculated a move, true, but I was under pressure, I didn’t know what to do. And as if the fact that I put the team in jeopardy wasn’t enough, you felt the need to add more salt to the wound.”

“That… wasn’t my intention...”

“It’s _never_ your intention, but you’re always like this! Just let me _breathe_ , Keith!”

Lance brushed his hair with a trembling hand. He looked even more tired now. He let out a sigh, and his shoulders dropped.

“If you don’t want me on the team, just say so and let me leave in peace. I can’t put up with you anymore. I’m just… I can’t. I never wanted this, I just handled it the best I could and it’s never _enough_.”

“Lance, I… I’m sorry I snapped at you. But you scared me. I thought you were going to die.”

“I did what I had to do. You said so yourself, this is bigger than us.”

“It doesn’t mean you have to go suicide bomb every time the situation gets too dangerous for us.”

Lance huffed, somehow a snarl and a sigh mixed together.

“Listen, just leave me alone for tonight,” he said just before he reached for the pad and slid the door close.

Keith was too surprised to react, and once he was confronted to the door, he didn’t know what to do.

Knock? Hit it hard enough to annoy Lance so he would open again? Scream in the corridor until he got an answer?

But in the end, he just let out an angry sigh, and walked away. Right after the sound of his steps disappeared from the corridor, Lance opened his door, and looked where Keith’s shadow was lingering. He clenched his fist, bit his lip, but went back to his room.

 

That evening, dinner happened in deadly silence. No one dared to speak for too long, probably still scared of mentioning the incident.

Lance didn’t come out of his room all evening.

 

The day after, Keith went to Lance’s room, having repeated what he should say all night, hoping he would be able to reconcile with Lance. He didn’t feel well after what Lance had dropped on him, the fact he thought he was… disposable. He didn’t like it one bit.

So when he knocked softly on Lance’s door, he expected everything. He didn’t know what could’ve crossed Lance’s mind during the night, and he could only wish his mind would’ve found some peace.

But only silence answered him. Nothing surprising in that.

“Lance? It’s Keith. Can you open the door? I thought… I think we should talk about yesterday.”

Nothing.

Suddenly, a shiver ran down his spine. It wasn’t good.

He pressed the pad and rushed in the room.

Empty.

_Empty._

There was nothing, as if no one ever lived there.

Keith’s heart dropped.

“Wh-” Keith couldn’t even voice any words.

He left the room, running to the bridge.

Allura and Pidge were there, talking about something Keith didn’t care to listen to.

“Lance is gone,” he said, out of breath.

The girls froze, slowly turning to him.

“What?” Allura opened her eyes widely.

“He wasn’t in the lounge or in the training deck, and his room is empty.”

“Empty?” Pidge repeated the last word, stunned.

“Yes. _Empty_.”

Allura immediately checked the Castle’s surveillance system, and the flight record too. And then she let out a muffled cry.

“The… there’s a pod missing...”

“What?!”

“It launched during the night. When no one was around the ship bay.”

“That… idiot...” Pidge cried.

“Allura, can we pick up its signal?” Keith asked, trying his best to hold everything together.

“Y-...yes, it should be possible. Every pod is equipped with a tracking device so...”

“I’m going to hack it right now.” Pidge wiped her eyes and shoved her glasses back on her nose.

She dropped into her seat, and started to look for the program she needed. Allura was also focused on her screen. Feeling like he had nothing left to do but wait, Keith turned around.

When she heard him move, Allura called him.

“It isn’t your fault, Keith.”

“It’s...”

“The last thing you need to do is blaming yourself. We’re going to get Lance back, and we’ll talk to him. It’s going to be fine.”

He nodded, not knowing what to answer to this.

Did he believe her? Did he _want_ to believe her? He didn’t know anymore.

All he knew was that Lance had left.

 

Pinpoint the location of the pod took more time than they thought it would. Everyone was on edge. Keith had told the bad news to Hunk and Coran, and Hunk closed himself off in the kitchen. Keith couldn’t blame him, and it hurt him that he wasn’t able to help him. He just stood there, in the corner of the room, and watched as Hunk cooked more and more food. If he kept on, they would have enough to feed of the entire Resistance. When the last plate completed a huge, gigantic pyramid of dishes, Keith sighed and decided he should say something.

“Hey, Hunk, I think… I think you did enough. If you continue, your food tower is going to fall on you.”

Hunk blinked. At Keith. Then at the pyramid. He looked down on the oven plate full of cookies he was holding. And with a sigh, he put it aside.

“Sorry. I went overboard, I guess.”

“It’s okay. We all feel… a bit shocked. It’s understandable.”

Hunk sighed.

“Lance is my best friend. I know him since kindergarten. I knew something was off with him lately, but I didn’t… I didn’t want to bother him with it and I thought that if he wanted to talk about it he would come to me or… I don’t know. But he just… he just left.”

“Maybe he had a lot on his mind. He didn’t what to do and…”

“… and he ran away.”

 _The sting_. The harsh reality.

Keith still couldn’t fully wrap his mind over that fact.

“We’ll find him.”

His voice didn’t waver, but the twist in his guts was strangling him.

 

It happened a few days after Lance had left. An incoming call from the Olkari Leader. Everyone rushed to the bridge, and Allura opened the connection. The familiar face of Ryner appeared on the screen. The team barely held back their disappointment.

“Greetinds, Princess Allura, Sir Coran and Paladins.”

“Ryner? Is everything alright? Did the Galra returned?”

“Oh, no, do not worry,” the woman said, a soft smile on her face. “It is… another kind of business that brought me to call you.”

“What is it?”

“Well… a few vargas ago, we have receive a message from…” she seemed to stumble on the words, as if she knew the weight they carried “from the Blue Paladin.”

“Lance? From Lance?” Allura managed to breathe.

She was shaking like a leaf. Of fear or relief, one wouldn’t know, but Shiro had to step into the platform to support her.

“Is he still on Olkari?”

“I am afraid not. He left as soon as I got his message.”

“What did he say?”

“Well… He decided to step out of being a Paladin for a while and joined the Resistance. I tried to talk to him, but I believe his choice was already made when he landed on Olkari. He wanted to join the Resistance on his own accord.”

Suddenly, all of them felt breathless. At the same time. And one question was still needed.

“You mean he could be anywhere now?” Keith asked, finally breaking out through the haze of his mind.

“Yes. He has been sent on a mission as soon as he joined,” she admitted, looking more and more sorry with every word.

That was the final blow. Pidge burst into tears, Hunk fell on his knees and Allura cried on Shiro’s

shoulder.

“I am sorry, Paladins.”

“Thank you for carrying his message, Ryner.” Shiro answered, his voice steady.

“I will see that he is taken good care of, I promise.”

“Thank you.”

The connection cut. Keith looked around, and all he could see was pain and despair. Their team was somehow broken, and he felt like the universes exploded somewhere in his mind.

Lance was gone. And they might never see him again.

Keith almost heard his heart crack in his chest.

 

It had been a few months, and they all learned to live with the brutal absence of their friend. Allura took over as the Blue Paladin. She was a fast learner, and soon she unlocked a whole new potential in Voltron. They were doing well, at least on the battlefield.

But once back in the Castle, the most troubling was the _silence_. There was no one to trouble Hunk while he was cooking. No one to tease Pidge as she worked in her lab. No one to taunt Keith during training session. No one to stood up to Shiro during the briefings. No one to flirt with Allura. No one to make fun of Coran’s bizarre ideas.

These were the worst moments. The moments where Lance’s absence was the most perceptible. Where it hurt the most.

But they had to move on. For the sake of the universe, for Voltron, for the Resistance.

 

One day, they helped a squad from the Resistance take back a base invaded by Galra a few months ago. It hadn’t been hard to tear off their defenses, and they had easily won it over. Once the base secured, the Paladins met with the Resistance’s officer, a woman named Ealidys.

“Good job out here,” she said with a smile. “Your help was greatly needed.”

“Don’t mention it. We’re happy to help,” Shiro replied politely.

“Or so I heard,” the captain grinned.

“What?”

“I was doubtful of Voltron, at first. Never believed in the fact that a single weapon could win the war. But looks like you proved me wrong today.”

“What convinced you?”

“One of my men told me you could help more than any of our allies. Said than Voltron was more than just a dumb machine with five fighters inside. And I’m glad I listened to him for this one. Though he may never let me live it down, now,” she chuckled.

She didn’t notice the sudden tension of the Paladins, the exchanged looks, the weak hope in their eyes.

“Captain Ealidys, who’s that soldier?” Keith asked, before anyone could.

The door suddenly opened. As she acknowledged the newcomer, she suddenly smiled.

“Ah, speaking of the devil!”

The soldier noticed the Paladins and hesitated a second. But then he seemed to snap out of it and walked to the captain.

“Everyone has taken their station and all the remaining Galra soldiers are locked up in the prison bay.” The soldier reported nonchalantly, and there was something familiar in his tone.

“Magnificent!” She nodded, satisfied. “Paladins, let me present you my right hand man, though you might already know him...”

The soldier took of his helmet, and they all gasped.

Lance stood there. His eyes fierce, wearing a new scar just below his left eye, lifting his chin proudly. He stared at his former teammates with both relief and fear, but he didn’t make a move towards them.

“Lance has been of a great help to the resistance. His knowledge of Galra tactics and his… inventive ideas saved us more than once. I’m thankful that you let him joined us.”

Lance smiled shyly at the praise, and Ealidys ruffled his hair.

“Anyway, I think you have a lot of things to say, so I’ll leave you alone for now,” she said to the Paladins, then she turned to Lance “We’re most likely to leave soon though, so I’ll advice you to keep it short.”

“Understood.”

The captain nodded at the Paladins and she left the room. That was when Keith snapped.

“Look like you’ve been enjoying yourself here.”

“Keith!” Allura hissed.

“Looks like you haven’t changed at all, Mullet.” Lance replied with a grin.

“We’ve been looking for you! Everywhere, anywhere we could think of!” Keith continued, taking a step closer to Lance.

“I know. I listened to the reports.”

“And you never thought of contacting us?” Pidge intervened.

Lance, who had been looking at Keith the whole time, finally averted his eyes. He looked at Pidge, and his expression softened.

“I’m sorry. I wanted to be alone.”

“But you joined the Resistance, Lance. How is this being alone?”

“They don’t know me. They don’t know where I come from or who I am. They don’t judge me. I don’t have to think of their opinion of me, I don’t even have to _care_.” He turned back to Keith, silent emphasis on his words.

“Lance, we… we never...” Hunk tried.

“Hey, it’s alright, buddy. I’m alright,” Lance said.

“Will you come back to the Castle with us?” Shiro asked, holding Lance’s gaze.

For a moment, Lance seemed to hesitate.

“I… I don’t know.”

“Lance, your place is with us. With your friends.” Allura whispered.

“I have friends in the Resistance too, you know. They’re good people. I can’t let them down.”

“You mean, like you let _us_ down?” Keith snarled.

“Keith, I swear, shut the hell up,” Pidge barked.

But Lance just huffed.

“Yeah. I’m not proud of that, just so you know.”

“Then why did you do it? We could have… We could have talked this out.”

Keith’s voice was trembling, full of remorse and anger.

“Maybe. Or we could’ve torn each other’s throats, man. I didn’t know what to do anymore.”

“So you ran away.”

“Yeah.”

The two boys were now face to face, at an arm’s length from each other. The others were holding their breath, not daring to speak a word.

“Lance, listen, I’m sorry for...”

“It’s alright, Keith.”

“It’s _not_ ! You have no idea what we’ve been all through! First you disappear, then we learn you joined the Resistance, and after that, months of silence! Not even a radio message. _Nothing._ What were you even thinking?”

“I...”

“We could have _talked_ , Lance. I know I’m not cut for emotional support and psychological talks, but I would’ve _tried_ , at least!”

“We already had a lot of these, Keith. It was never going to work out.”

“We we… We _are_ teammates, Lance! Things were never going to be easy between us, but we could have tried.”

“Keith… you don’t understand. There was never an _us._ Not at the beginning, not now. We’re not cut to work together.”

Keith received these words like a punch in his chest. The hardest, sharpest one he had ever taken. He was left breathless, and staggered a bit. Lance made a slight move to catch him, but decided not to in the end.

“I’m sorry I had to leave this way. I’m sorry I hurt you all. But this is my life now. Voltron can go on without me, now that Allura took over. My place is with the Resistance, and I’ll help them as much as I can. I don’t know what will happen after, but for now, this is what I want to do. I hope you’ll understand.”

At that moment, his mic buzzed and a muffled voice came out. Lance sighed, and put his helmet back.

“Guess that’s my cue. See ya guys, take care.”

He smiled at them, a deep, deep sad smile. His eyes lingered on Keith more than they should have, but eventually he turned around and left.

And the moment he disappeared, Keith broke. All the tears he had held back all this time finally flowed out his eyes and blurred his vision to the point he couldn’t see anymore.

Lance was gone again.

And it was _his_ fault.

 _It had always been his fault_.

He barely noticed when arms wrapped around his shoulders, his arm, his chest. He just let it all out, all the pain, all the regret, all the bitterness.

He let Lance’s lingering presence leave his heart. He let his soul wail out in agony one last time before he moved on.

Keith didn’t know how he made it back to the Castle. The only thing he could think of was that he lost his chance to bring Lance back.

 

 

 


End file.
